THE DIRT: Weekly Outdoor News From The Blue Ridge And Beyond

Photo Courtesy of the Southern Environmental Law Center

THE DIRT is a weekly look at outdoor news from the Blue Ridge and Beyond.

Shooting of Endangered Red Wolves Permitted in North Carolina

Officials in North Carolina have authorized the shooting of the endangered red wolf. The Red Wolf Recovery Area of eastern North Carolina is home to the world’s only population of the endangered species, and the legalized killing of these animals represents a major threat to it’s continued survival. Read more here.

Pollution Challenge Denied

The state of North Carolina was recently denied a challenge to existing EPA pollution standards. The challenged law was instituted in 2010 and regulates the level of dangerous fine particle pollution. No other state joined North Carolina in its request for more lenient fine particle standards. The request was ultimately denied when the statue of limitation expired on the case.

“Fine particle pollution is linked to over two million premature deaths around the globe each year, and there is no level of exposure that is considered safe,” said Myra Blake of the Southern Environmental Law Center. “That’s why local citizen groups representing over 15,000 North Carolinians joined forces to oppose the state’s lawsuit. This has been a tremendous waste of North Carolina’s limited resources, as the state chose to expend valuable time and energy challenging an important public health protection, even though it knew the filing deadline has already passed.”

After 46 days and eight plus hours, Scott Jurek has achieved his goal of setting the Appalachian Trail speed record previously held by BRO’s own Jennifer Pharr Davis. Scott reached the summit of Khatadin shortly after 2 p.m., a few hours ahead of his 5:15 P.M cut off time. Check out Scott’s Facebook page for timely updates on his progress.

Tour de France Collision

A major pile up took place during the third stage of the Tour de France last week. Some riders were severely injured, and four were forced to abandon the race altogether.